Police: Boy, 14, questioned in South Side slaying

Rosemary R. SobolTribune reporter

A 14-year-old boy is being interviewed tonight in connection with the slaying of a 17-year-old boy who was shot and killed as he walked to his grandmother's home in the Oakland neighborhood on Chicago's South Side earlier this week, police said.

No charges have been filed as Area Central detectives continued to speak with him, police said.

Dejuan Jackson was walking along the 4000 block of South Lake Park Avenue with several friends around 7 p.m. Wednesday when someone opened fire and he was hit several times, including in the head, authorities said.

Jackson was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, where he was pronounced dead at 7:58 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

An autopsy Thursday determined Jackson died of a gunshot wound to the head and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Jackson had been headed to his grandmother's home, who lives nearby, police said.

"He was an outgoing kid," said a cousin, who asked not to be named. "He liked to shop, go to the mall, just hang out with his friends. He wasn't in a gang."

The oldest of three boys, Jackson spent most of his free time with close friends he grew up with, his family said. The group spent afternoons at nearby Mandrake Park.

The victim’s friends told his family he wasn't the intended target, his cousin said.

"I don't know who he was with, but they're just like him," she said. "They (aren't) into gangs."